About Me

Friday, March 26, 2010

Product 36: Yemm & Hart Materials: Origins Line

Those speckled dividers often seen in bathrooms can tell a story, if they're from Yemm & Hart Materials of Missouri. Yemm & Hart's Origins line is made of recycled plastic bottles (all HDPE #2 materials). After being sanitized and melted down, these bottles are shredded into oatmeal-sized flakes and are melted down into sheets of plastic. Applications? Bathroom and shower partitions, general privacy barriers, and table- or counter- tops. Each piece can be completely personalized by etching, stamping, ink-printing, or any of myriad options. Yemm & Hart offers many standard sizes, though some of the larger come at additional cost. Thicknesses range from 1/8" to 2". Prices are by the pound, and start at $5.67, though specialty panels (thicker, custom, special size) are more. Finishes are either textured or gloss, and maintenance is low. Interestingly enough, rubbing a spoon along (not across) a scratch can help repair it. Two little catches, though: No specific color or pattern is 100% guaranteed, as the plastic components come from the consumer waste stream: if no one buys Tide Detergent, no Tide-color Orange can be recycled, can it? Also, these are not UV-stabilized. There is a 15-year warranty, however, as Yemm & Hart pledge good faith and high satisfaction on their merch. Odd quirk: if an international student or designer wishes to order a sample, they must send "1 paper currency (any denomination) in use or that has been used in your country as legal tender, 1 brochure from your firm, 1 artistic postage stamp from your country (canceled or uncanceled), and 1 post card or photograph of something special about your country," in addition to the order. Sounds like someone's a collector... To see more, here's the site: yemmhart.com .